Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has announced a plan to use Nile crocodiles to guard Palestinian political prisoners, according to the report. The initiative is due to begin at Ketziot, Israel’s largest prison in the Negev desert. Palestinians know the facility as Ansar 3, and the report says it was used as a concentration camp during the First Intifada from 1988 to 1995.

The report says Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman classified crocodiles as “farmed wildlife” to facilitate the proposal. The reptiles would be released into moats, it says. It also states that Ben Gvir drew inspiration from Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention centre, which US President Donald Trump visited last year.

The article places the proposal within broader allegations that animals have been used against Palestinians. It cites claims involving wild boars released near Palestinian communities in the West Bank, theft of livestock and donkeys in Gaza, and the use of dogs. It says the Israeli army released 18 wild boars near the besieged Palestinian village of Iktaba, close to Nur Shams refugee camp, in April 2025.